Alabama bankruptcy filings hit highest level since 2019

Alabama bankruptcy filings climbed to 20,636 in 2025, the highest annual total the state has seen since 2019 and part of a broader national upswing in bankruptcies.

What the headline refers to

• Recent reporting notes that Alabama recorded 20,636 bankruptcy filings in 2025, based on American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) data.

• That figure exceeds every year since 2019, when Alabama had 26,809 filings, though levels in the 2000s and early 2010s were often at or above that range.

• Nationally, bankruptcy filings have been rising after the pandemic-era trough: between March 2024 and March 2025, total U.S. filings rose about 13 percent to roughly 468,000 cases, and the year ending December 31, 2023 already showed a 16.8 percent increase over the prior year.

How Alabama compares to other states

• Alabama has for years ranked at or near the top for personal bankruptcy on a per‑capita basis; one analysis found its rate was about 14 filings per 100 residents, leading all states in filings per consumer.

• More recent compilations of bankruptcy rates per 1,000 residents still show Alabama at or near the highest filing rate in the country.

Possible drivers behind the increase

• The recent rise in U.S. bankruptcies has been linked to the unwinding of pandemic-era relief, higher interest rates, and accumulated consumer and small‑business debt pressures.

• National data show double‑digit year‑over‑year increases in consumer filings in 2025, including a 21 percent jump in December consumer filings versus December 2024, with Chapter 7 up 24 percent and Chapter 13 up 17 percent.

• Business bankruptcies have also fully recovered and now exceed 2019 levels, which contributes to the overall increase in filings, although consumer cases still make up the bulk of filings.

Quick national vs. Alabama snapshot